Bullying Perpetration and Victimization as Externalizing and Internalizing Pathways: A Retrospective Study Linking Parenting Styles and Self-Esteem to Depression, Alcohol Use, and Alcohol-Related Problems

ABSTRACT

Background: Emerging research suggests significant positive associations between bullying and substance use behaviors. However, these studies typically focused either on the link between substance use and bullying perpetration or victimization, and few have conceptualized bullying perpetration and/or victimization as mediators. Objective: In this study, we simultaneously tested past bullying perpetration and victimization as mediational pathways from retrospective report of parenting styles and global self-esteem to current depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems. Methods: Data were collected from a college sample of 419 drinkers. Mediation effects were conducted using a bias-corrected bootstrap technique within a structural equation modeling framework. Results: Two-path mediation analyses indicated that mother and father authoritativeness were protective against bully victimization and depression through higher self-esteem. Conversely, having a permissive or authoritarian mother was positively linked to bullying perpetration, which in turn, was associated with increased alcohol use, and to a lesser degree, more alcohol-related problems. Mother authoritarianism was associated with alcohol-related problems through depressive symptoms. Three-path mediation analyses suggested a trend in which individuals with higher self-esteem were less likely to report alcohol-related problems through lower levels of bullying victimization and depression. Conclusions/Importance: Results suggested that bullying perpetration and victimization may, respectively, serve as externalizing and internalizing pathways through which parenting styles and self-esteem are linked to depression and alcohol-related outcomes. The present study identified multiple modifiable precursors of, and mediational pathways to, alcohol-related problems which could guide the development and implementation of prevention programs targeting problematic alcohol use.

Keywords:

• Parenting
• self-esteem
• bullying
• depression
• alcohol
• mediation

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Funding

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism No. F31 AA020700.

Glossary

• CES-D: Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale

• CFI: Comparative Fit Index

• CI: Confidence Intervals

• RMSEA: Root Mean Square Error of Approximation

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jeremy W. Luk

Jeremy W. Luk, Ph.D., received his doctoral degree in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington, Seattle. He is broadly interested in adolescent development, substance use etiology and treatment, as well as ethnic minority mental health. He previously worked as a Postbaccalaureate Fellow at the Prevention Research Branch of NIH/NICHD in 2008-2009, and was the recipient of an Individual National Research Service Award from NIH/NIAAA in 2011–2014. He has published (both as lead author and co-author) over a dozen peer-reviewed papers in academic journals, and would like to pursue an academic research career. Jeremy is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego.

Julie A. Patock-Peckham

Julie A. Patock-Peckham, Ph.D. in Social Psychology, is a Barrett Honors Faculty in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University, Tempe. She received a fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health in 2002/2003 as part of her work at the Prevention Intervention Research Center and was the recipient of an Individual National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Health/National Institute of Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism 1999–2001. She is currently an editorial board member for the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs and has co-authored over 30 papers in the fields of personality and the addictions.

Mia Medina

Mia Medina obtained her B.A. in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. During her time as an undergraduate, she was a research assistant in the Social Health Research Group under Dr. Patock-Peckham's guidance, where she focused on the study of interpersonal violence and abuse. She was also a research assistant on the PEERS (Peers Everyday Emotions and Relationships in School) project under Drs. Carlos Valiente, Nancy Eisenberg, and Tracy Spinrad. Mia is interested in pursuing a research/counseling career focusing on romantic relationships and sexual violence.

Nathan Terrell

Nathan Terrell is a master's student in Family Studies and Human Development at Arizona State University. He obtained his B.A. in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. During his time as an undergraduate, he was a lab manager for the Social Health Research Group under Dr. Patock-Peckham's guidance. Currently, he is Drs. Carlos Valiente and Tracy Spinrad's student in the Family Studies and Human Development Department. Nathan is interested in emotional regulation, peer and teacher relationships, and academic achievement. Future interests concern parental and peer relationships with a particular interest in bullying within the school setting. 

Daniel Belton

Daniel A. Belton, received his B.A. from the Department of Psychology from Arizona State University. During his time as an undergraduate he served as a lab supervisor for Dr. Patock-Peckham's Social Health Research Group which studies externalizing issues related to the addictions. He is also an active member of the BARCA lab (Behavioral Alcohol Research for Clinical Advancement) at Arizona State University under the guidance of Dr. William Corbin. The BARCA lab is a behavioral pharmacology lab in the addictions. Daniel is interested in pursuing his doctorate in Clinical Psychology specializing in the treatment of PTSD. This is Daniel's first publication.

Kevin M. King

Kevin M. King, Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology, Arizona State University), is an Associate Professor of Child Clinical Psychology, University of Washington. His work has shown that individuals’ poor cognitive and emotional self-regulation are more vulnerable to environmental and social risk factors (e.g., stress, poor parenting, and depressive symptoms), that the development of cognitive and emotional self-regulation during adolescence is not uniform across adolescents, and that poor or under-developed self-regulation puts adolescents at the highest risk for broad classes of behavior problems. He has been principal and co-investigator on multiple federal and private foundation grants to examine substance use and self-regulation in youth.